Keith Mott writes about winning fanciers past and present...

TERRY HALEY OF ABBOTS LANGLEY

Every season I seem to be reporting on the fantastic racing performances put up by my good ol’ mate, Terry Haley, and the 2009 season has not been the exception. Everyone has been talking about his champion youngster, light blue chequer hen ‘Hughes’37’, and her performance was just brilliant, being sent to Blandford on south road too win 1st club, with that being backed up with a good position in the Federation result. On the Saturday evening of the Blandford race she was re-basketed and sent north road for the Newark race to be flown on the Sunday, and recorded 1st club, 1st Thames Valley NR Federation. She was sent to the races that weekend sitting a week old pair of eggs and Terry told me, that he noticed she was keen to get out of the crate at marking on the Friday night. ‘Hughes’ 37’ was 5th Federation Derby the week previous, beaten by two loft mates. Her nest mate, a blue chequer cock, also won a race for the Haley loft and they were a gift pair of youngsters from Tony and Simon Hughes of Rochdale. Tony and Simon have been very successful racing in the North West of England and also presented Terry with a gift egg, which produced, ‘Hughes’ 26’, the winner of 1st Federation (twice) plus 1st Breeder / Buyer (£400) in the 2009 season. Brilliant winning bloodlines! Terry has enjoyed a wonderful 2009 season winning a long list of premier position flying north and south road, including 1st Thames Valley NR Federation four times. Brilliant pigeon racing!

I think I have known Terry and Karen Haley nearly 30 years and all that time the ‘Watford Wizard’ has always been at the top of the game, being one of the premier North Road fanciers in the U.K. He has been a good friend of my family for many years; in fact he is my son, Mark’s godfather. His pigeons have won countless major positions through the years and have won 1st Federation from Leicester (68 miles), through to Lerwick (600 miles). He recently tried to count up his Federation wins and tells me they are about 30 firsts, but has won the Federation at least three times from Thurso (492 miles). Terry has won 1st. Thames Valley Federation Champion race from Berwick, Perth, Banff, Fraserburgh and Thurso, as well as first in the young bird Federation Championship. He has won 17 R.P.R.A. awards and London Region trophies and medals, and of course 1st open Combine with his champion blue hen, ‘Misty Lady’. This wonderful hen died of old age in the autumn of 2005 and has left a dynasty of winners in the Haley loft. The 2004 season saw Terry win 1st open North Thames N.R. Combine from Arbroath, with his good blue cock, ‘The Pimpernel’ and this champion pigeon went on to record 2nd open North Thames N.R. Combine Stonehaven in 2005. He is from a brilliant winning line of pigeons; with his dam being one of Terry’s good racing hens, ‘The Ghost’.

Three Borders Federation News

I’ve written it many times through the years and I make no excuses for writing it again, Bryan Poulton of Shepperton, secretary of the Three Borders Federation is one of the very best pigeon administrator I’ve ever met! Bryan has been secretary of the Federation for over 20 years and has given us brilliant service over that time.

In the 2008 season Bryan sent to his first NFC race for fifteen year, when he sent a small natural team of birds to the Tarbes Grand National and recorded his good seven year old blue chequer pied hen on the day of liberation, flying 564 miles, to win 1st Section E, 10th Open. This game hen was bred from Bryan’s base families of Cattrysse and Dordin, and being sent to Tarbes sitting14 day old eggs returned in excellent condition. On her build up to the Tarbes National she had two inland races, a Messac race when she scored 4th club and had several good training tosses before going to the National. She has scored many times from France including: 2002 (as a yearling): 1st club, 2nd Three Borders Federation Bergerac, 2003: 3rd club Bergerac, 2005: 2nd club, 11th Three Borders Federation, 24th SMT Combine Poitiers, 2006: 6th club, 20th Three Borders Federation Bergerac. A wonderful hen! It's always great to hear of any premier worker in the sport winning a good prize with his pigeons. It's hard to excel at racing with very limited time in the loft, so I was delighted to hear that Bryan Poulton, the hard-working Secretary of the Three Borders Federation had won the NFC Section E. from Tarbes. A few season ago Bryan won the Federation from Seaton. This racepoint is a 125 mile fly from the south coast and Bryan's game four year old blue cock beat 1,249 birds to win. Bryan tells me that he really likes the longer races, having won the longest old bird race from Bergerac and Bordeaux about 13 times, but really enjoyed Seaton Federation win.

Bryan was born in Hersham, near Weybridge in Surrey, and first became interested in pigeons as a 14 year old when visiting his friend, Dave Newman, who was a pigeon fancier. Bryan's father wasn't a fancier but was very keen on greyhounds, so with Dave's help Bryan obtained pigeons from Harry Wheatcroft of Reigate and Freddie Ranaboldo of Mo1esey, to start himself off in the sport. He started racing his pigeons in 1954 and says he admired the performances of Freddie Ranaboldo and Charlie Maycock, who were the premier local fanciers at that time. He had his first race with young birds in 1955, flying in the Walton RPC and recorded 3rd and 4th club. The first Poulton loft was an orange box on stilts and after some help from local fanciers, including Mark Finestone, he progressed to a 20ft loft with a large bay. Bryan says he likes the loft to have plenty of air circulation, but it must be dry and warm. The loft houses 30 natural pairs of racers, which are paired up on February 14th. Bryan says he likes to treat them as pets and tends to over feed them. He has no stock birds, only breeding from his best racers, and has a young bird team of about 50 birds each season. His pigeons are the original Heide family bred from the Wheatcroft cock birds and the Ranaboldo hens. He thinks the original Harry Wheatcroft stock came from Rey Brothers of Scotland. In recent years, he has introduced the Dordin and Cattrysse pigeons with outstanding success. The Poulton pigeons are now his own inbred family and he says they have always tended to be better from the longer races. From the Continent, he maintains that his best performance was racing from Bergerac in two clubs on the same weekend, taking the first three positions in one club and the first two in the other, all with birds clocked on the day of liberation. Bryan's wife takes a big interest in the pigeons. She says he is always looking for new ways to get some improvement in his birds' performances but finds that even though he took early retirement, lack of time is his biggest problem. He really is one of the sport's workers, being President and Treasurer of the SMT Combine, Secretary and Treasurer of the Three Borders Federation and acting Secretary of the Walton RPC as well as being a member of the L&SECC and NFC. 

All the Poulton pigeons, old and young, are raced through to the longest race and are fed a good mixture, with beans and maize. They are also given a few peanuts and condition seed and for training all the birds are treated the same. Once they beat Bryan home, he moves them on to the next point. He likes to see a good eye with a full circle but maintains that at the end of the day, the basket, not eyesign, will tell which are the quality pigeons. He likes his pigeons sitting l4-day-old eggs for the longer races and says that through the years he had admired many fanciers, including Alf Baker, Alex Fleming and Freddie Ranaboldo, but the most consistent today are Trussler Brothers of West Molesey, because pigeon racing is a way of life to them and they win out of turn. Bryan maintains that you must line breed to form a successful family of pigeons, and then pair the best to the best. He says he worries about the moult but has never changed the food, apart from adding a little barley and linseed. He doesn't breed latebreds these days as he believes that youngsters should have race experience. He is very keen on deep litter on the loft floors, but this must be kept completely dry. On many occasions, he says, the ugly and mad pigeons prove to be the best racers, but he likes his birds to be tame and quiet. He believes the sport has been going downhill over the years and he thinks it's because the social side of any club has taken second place to fanciers wanting to win at all costs, rather than having the pleasure of taking part. The sport depends on the losers as there is only one winner each week. In the sport of pigeon racing, like most things in life, you will only get out of it, what you put in - and if you put the effort in, you will be rewarded. Bryan told me that for people like him, giving a great deal of their time in the administration of the sport for the benefit of others would be better spent with the pigeons, but for the most part, they have to depend for success on the basis of 'anything to come, be glad of it' and I agree with him!

This week, Bryan kindly furnished me with the 2009 Three Borders Federation average and premier prize winner’s lists. Keeping it brief these are the top fanciers and clubs in the 2009 season: Old Bird Average: Mr. & Mrs. W. Gardiner, R/U Slight & Bateman: Old Bird Inland Average: Mr. & Mrs. J. Barrett, R/U V. Johnson: Old Bird Continental Average: Mr. & Mrs. W. Gardiner, R/U Slight & Bateman: Young Bird Average: Mr. & Mrs. D. Allison, R/U Mr. & Mrs. J. Barrett: Combined Average: Slight & Bateman, R/U Mr. & Mrs. R. Maybey & son: Combine Inland Average: Mr. & Mrs. J. Barrett & son, R/U Mr. & Mrs. R. Maybey & son: Best Average Tours & Bergerac: Mr. & Mrs. W. Gardiner, R/U Slight & Bateman: Best Average Longest OB & YB: Slight & Bateman, R/U Jenkyn, Barrott & Rolfe.

The 2009 Federation winners: Mr. & Mrs. R. Maybey & son (four firsts), I. Malik & partners (three firsts), Mr. & Mrs. J. Barrett (two firsts) and the following fanciers have won the Federation once, R. D. Carter & son, Khan Brothers, T. McCoy &son, J. Turner & son, D. Squire, R. Winton, D. Reid, T. Goodsell, S. Gasson jnr, Slight & Bateman, P. Johnson & partners and T. & G. Dye. Principal money winner were: Mr. & Mrs. J. Barrett £152, Mr. & Mrs. R. Maybey & son £100, I. Malik & partners £67, R. D. Carter & son £52, D. Reid £42 and P. Johnson & partner £37. At the end of the 2009 season the Federation Points champions are Esher (244 points) with South Downs being runner up (234 points) and the Individual Points Trophy winners are M/M John Barrett & son of Esher (69 points) with runner up M/M R. Maybey & son (40 points). The Esher club have enjoyed another brilliant season in 2009 racing in the Three Borders Federation and winning the Federation Points Shield for the forth time in five seasons. Well done again to my ol’ mates at Esher!

Well that’s it for this week’s ‘ON THE ROAD’. I would like to finish this article by giving a vote of thanks from all us member, to Dennis Sheppard who convoyed the Federation birds in 2009. Dennis took over the convoying duties for the first time this season and did a brilliant job. Well done mate! I can be contacted on Telephone: 01372 463480. See yer!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.